The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign invites applications and
nominations for the position of Head of the Department of Computer Science
in the College of Engineering. The Department of Computer Science conducts
an outstanding educational and research program, embracing major technical
specializations of the profession. The Department currently has
approximately 45 full-time faculty members, 350 graduate students and 1000
undergraduate majors in several curricula, teaches courses in computer
science for other students, and offers degrees at bachelors, masters, and
doctoral levels. A new building for the Department nears completion. The
Head of the Department is the chief administrative officer with
responsibilities for administrative, budgetary, and promotion decisions,
and for leading the faculty in the development of research, teaching, and
public service.

The Search Committee seeks a distinguished computer scientist with
strong research credentials, proven leadership capabilities, and knowledge
of a university environment. The Head also holds the rank of Professor of
Computer Science with tenure. Salary is negotiable with appointment to
commence in July, 1990. The closing date for receipt of applications is
October 20, 1989. All applications received by this time are assured
consideration, but the search committee will continue until the position is
filled. Applications should send a curriculum vitae and the names,
addresses, and phone numbers of five references to:

This Friday, August 18 is my last day at the National Science
Foundation. I like to take this opportunity to express my
gratitude to the community for all services rendered.
Your efforts are greatly appreciated by both myself and NSF.

The 65th birthdays of two emminent mathematical scientists took place in
recent weeks. I don't think it should pass without notice.

Ed Block who is Executive Director of SIAM has guided SIAM from its
infancy to its current dynamic growth. In fact, he's been pre-occupied
most recently with SIAM's move to new headquarters in Philadelphia.
But we all realize that it is Ed's drive and energy that has made SIAM
such a successful organization. Beyond Ed's organizational skills, it
should be noted that he is always supportive of and concerned about
his colleagues. He is a true gentleman and we wish him many happy
returns.

Ingram Olkin is not only a statistician of emminence but he has been
very concerned with the infrastructure of the mathematical sciences.
He has spent countless hours in the Washington agencies, working for
the betterment of our science. I was fortunate to attend a banquet in
Washington in his honor. Many of friends praised him not only for his
technical skills but for his warmth, energy and spirit.

There will be morning and evening lectures of approximately 1/2
hour each. An attempt will be made to avoid parallel sessions.
If necessary, contributed talks will be held in parallel.
Afternoon Workshops will be organized to concentrate on special
topics. Evening Panel Discussions will be held on topics of
interest.

How to Contribute:

Potential contributors should submit an abstract of no more than
200 words to:

All speakers will be urged to submit a paper. A preliminary
version of the proceedings will be available to attendees at the
start of the conference. Papers must be submitted before February
15 to be included in the preliminary proceedings. A final version
will be published as a special issue of The SIAM Journal of SISC.
Submitted papers will be carefully refereed to ensure publication
quality.

Location:

The conference will be held at Copper Mountain, Colorado, 75 miles
west of Denver. Condominium accommodations and adjacent meeting
rooms are in the Village Square Lodge at the base of the Copper
Mountain ski lifts.

Registration:

Please mail the attached registration form with the conference fee
($135.00 for SIAM members, $150.00 for nonmembers, U. S. funds)
by March 1, 1990. Registrations marked after March 1 will be
$160.00 for SIAM members, $175.00 for nonmembers. Registration
fees include a copy of the preliminary proceedings, a copy of the
final proceedings to be published by SIAM, a reception on Sunday
evening, coffee breaks, and a banquet on Tuesday evening.
Cancellations received before March 1 will be refunded fully.
Cancellations received from March 1 through March 29 will be
refunded less a $50.00 handling fee. No refunds will be issued
for cancellations received after March 29.

Block reservations in deluxe condominiums have been made for the
conference. A lodge room has one or two queen beds and a
two-bedroom condominium has four beds, three baths, kitchen,
dining area, fireplace, and glassed-in balcony. Each type of
accommodation will be available in limited quantities on a
first-come, first-served basis.

Group rates are available for up to three days before and/or after
the conference. These rates are:

The above rates are subject to local and state taxes (at 5.2%).
Reservations should be made directly with Copper Mountain by
February 1, 1990. Availability of rooms cannot be guaranteed
after February 1. Participants from North America should make
reservations by telephone. Call toll free (800)458-8386. Copper
Mountain requires a deposit of one night's fees within 14 days
after requesting reservations. Overseas participants should make
reservations by writing to Copper Mountain Lodging Services,
Reservations, P.O. Box 3117, Copper Mountain, CO 80443, USA.
Please enclose payment for the first night as a deposit.

Meals:

Registration fees include a reception on Sunday evening, April 1,
and a banquet on Tuesday, April 3. A variety of fine restaurants
will be easily accessible in Copper Mountain Village throughout
the conference.

Transportation:

Copper Mountain is located 75 miles west of Denver via Interstate
70, Exit 195. Participants should make airline arrangements
through Denver's Stapleton Airport. All major automobile rental
agencies have counters at Stapleton, and Trailways bus service is
also available. (Porterage will be charged to all groups arriving
by bus at a fee of $3.00 per person.)

Group rates on rental cars and travel will be available through
the Apex Travel Service at Copper Mountain. Contact Becky or
Roberta at (800)458-8386.

Limousine service to Copper Mountain from Stapleton is available
through Resort Express. Six trips daily provide easy access to
Copper Mountain. The fare is $26.00 per person one way, $46.00
round trip. Reservations should be made in advance by calling
(800)334-7433.

Recreation:

Colorado is noted for its excellent spring skiing. Group
discounts will be available on the purchase of lift tickets for
persons staying three or more nights. Full day discounted tickets
will be $17.00 for weekends and $16.00 for weekdays after April 1.
Ski equipment rental and group ski lessons are also available.

Ice skating, cross-country skiing, tennis, swimming, and
racquetball are some of the other options that participants may
enjoy. Lodging includes free use of the health club with the
exception of tennis and racquetball court fees.

Weather:

Daytime temperatures in the mountains of Colorado in April range
from 20 F to 40 F, with evening temperatures ranging from 0 F to
20 F.

As I was teaching a course several years ago in which use of MATLAB was
required, I realized that there was no document available to help the
students begin to use MATLAB. To fill this void I wrote a 25 page
document
MATLAB Primer

which is intended for student use in courses which require use of MATLAB.
While this is its primary purpose, it could, of course, serve as an
introduction to MATLAB for others.

"Primer" has been used with success in a number of courses across the
campus at the University of Florida for the last several years.
"Primer", along with the on-line help facility, usually suffice for
the students to use MATLAB in a classroom setting. It assumes,
however, that the complete MATLAB User's Guide is available for review
at certain locations -- such as consulting desks, terminal rooms, computing
laboratories, and the reference desk in the library -- as a source
for more in-depth information.

I am now happy to share the (plain) TeX source for "MATLAB Primer" with
others. If you wish to use "Primer" in your courses, please let me know
at the address below; I will send you the TeX source via email.

The most convenient method of distribution to students seems to be through
a local copy center where the student can purchase it for a few dollars.
You can, of course, use any convenient copy center. However, special
arrangements are being made for distribution through Kinko's copy centers.
If there is one near you, please include its address; I should be able to
arrange to have "Primer" available at your local Kinko's copy center.